It’s already November and we now have approximately 80,000-85,000 coffee seedlings planted on an area of approximately 85 hectares! There are another 100,000 seedlings in the nursery waiting to be planted next rainy season. We have stopped planting this year, as rainy season comes to an end. We will now begin the management & maintenance phase for the plantation, and will expect the first harvest (from the seedlings planted this year) in 2016. We will resume planting next rainy season, when the rains come again.
Throughout the months of July to October, BCC created jobs for more than 200 Bugkalot farmers and we will continue to provide jobs for about 50-75 farmers as we move to the management & maintenance phase of the plantation. This will be done through the cooperative we helped the Bugkalot organize. The cooperative’s management team will continue to receive on-the-job training on managing a large scale business and learning basic management principles, while their members receive technical training on the various aspects of coffee growing.
Bugkalot Coffee Company believes in empowering the Bugkalot, not just by equipping and enabling them. This will provide longer term benefit in terms of stronger leaders with the experience to run their business without external micro-management. We have already seen significant benefit for the community by providing jobs and creating economy for the Bugkalot, and we look forward to even greater impact for the community as we develop & expand the plantation.
Bugkalot Coffee Company 